Davies and Mills swoop to golds at English Schools Track and Field Championships

Ed White

Golden boys George Davies and George Mills bagged national titles from the prestigious English Schools Track and Field Championships in Gateshead.

Davies threw a new personal best to take the gold medal in the U17s javelin event, while Mills timed his sprint to perfection to dominate the U17s 800m.

The pair showed off the class that has seen both selected to represent England at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa later this year.

Mills came sixth at the Schools’ Championships 12 months ago, but has since chopped more than six seconds off his time.

He finished second in his opening heat in Gateshead before controlling the pace in the final and sprinting to the front with around 120m to go.

His time of 1.53.53 was three seconds slower than his personal best of 1.50.55, a time that has ranked him second in the country at U17 level.

Jon Ireland, Mills’ coach at Harrogate Harriers, said: “He’s a great competitor. That’s what sets him apart from others.

“It’s alright being able to run fast times, but to race is a different kettle of fish. George is a championship performer, he is not fazed by the bigger competition.”

Davies went into the championships as third favourite to take the gold medal but he produced his furthest throw of his life with an 800g javelin to take gold.

The 17-year-old threw 64.17m to beat the field by three-and-a-half metres.

The City of York athlete’s coach Paul Wilson said: “He was going there planning for a medal but he had only done three training sessions with the heavier javelin.

“We both wanted him to go there and make a statement, and he did just that. It could have been even more, too, but he had a fail at 67m where he touched the line with his toe.”

Despite throwing the qualification distance, Davies missed out on qualification for the World Youth Championships. He will now focus his attentions solely on Samoa, where he will revert back to the 700g javelin.

Wilson added: “I firmly believe he will be the future of javelin throwing in Britain.”

Harrogate Harriers member Millie Howard earned a third medal for the area as she hung on for silver in the Girls U20s 800m.

Howard took the race to her rivals but was hauled in close to the line.